In a criminal case, the state, through a prosecutor, initiates the suit, while in a civil case the victim brings the suit. Persons convicted of a crime may be incarcerated, fined, or both. Criminal defense attorneys represent clients who have been accused of committing a crime, and defend their rights at each stage of a misdemeanor or felony case -- from an arrest to an appeal after conviction. Criminal defense attorneys may be hired privately or provided by the government (called "public defenders").
Mooresville is a town in Limestone County, Alabama, United States, located southeast of the intersection of Interstates 565 and 65, and north of Wheeler Lake. The town is between Huntsville and Decatur, and is part of the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area; its population as of the 2000 census is 59. Mooresville is the oldest incorporated town in Alabama (November 16, 1818). The entire town, characterized as a picturesque early 19th century village, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The post office (1840) is the oldest still in operation in the state and features call boxes built prior to the American Civil War. Andrew Johnson, later president of the United States, was an apprentice tailor in Mooresville as a young man. Mooresville was occupied by the Union Army several times during the Civil War, and a number of skirmishes were fought in the vicinity. Although the town's per-capita income is over $50,000, Mooresville is within the area covered by the charter for the Appalachian Regional Commission, an organization whose goal is to help increase the per-capita income of impoverished areas. Mooresville is within Corridor V of the Appalachian Development Highway System. The town was the primary filming location for Disney's Tom and Huck(1995).